Columns

From the category archives: Columns

JOE GUNN

It was a truly impressive event on Parliament Hill - with barely a politician in sight. Young James Bay Cree students spoke on why they wanted a safe school for themselves, their sisters and brothers, and other northern Ontario communities. With them were some Ottawa-area grade school students, with their teachers and parents, happy to lend their support.

JOE GUNN

Hillary Clinton was likened to Lucifer in a speech at the Republican National Convention, and then Donald Trump referred to her as the devil. Not to be outdone, at the Democratic Convention, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg called Trump "a con," saying "The richest thing about Donald Trump is his hypocrisy." In a climate of highly-personal negative rhetoric, the two major U.S. political parties held their respective (if not overly respectful) conventions in July.

JOE GUNN

One year ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its 500-page final report on Indian residential schools: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future. Most importantly, the TRC issued 94 calls to action. Several of these recommendations should directly impact the ways people of faith live out our covenantal relationship with the indigenous people of this land.

JOE GUNN

One year ago, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) released its 500-page final report on Indian residential schools: Honouring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future. Most importantly, the TRC issued 94 calls to action. Several of these recommendations should directly impact the ways people of faith live out our covenantal relationship with the indigenous people of this land.

JOE GUNN

June 18 marks the first anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical letter on the environment, Laudato Sí. Please resolve to spend some quiet time with this text, thinking about how your family and your congregation can rise to the challenge of creating the new, more environmentally-just world the pope envisions. Author and activist Naomi Klein spoke at a Vatican press conference after the release of Pope Francis' encyclical.

JOE GUNN

Pope Francis repositioned the entire global debate around climate change when he released the first-ever encyclical on Christian responsibility to protect the environment. Laudato Sí was timely, morally incisive and prophetic. Now, almost one year later, we have an historic opportunity to direct the way Canada will address climate change. Will faith communities show up - in timely, incisive and prophetic ways - or leave the moral and ethical issues surrounding climate change up in the clouds?

JOE GUNN

Where do the churches find themselves in the journey towards reconciliation with indigenous peoples? In an Ottawa sanctuary at the end of March, Susan Johnson, national bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, described our current status in vivid terms.

JOE GUNN

Canadian society, and Canada's historical Christian churches in particular, have been rocked by the legacy of Indian residential schools. While much of the hard work of reconciliation is left to be done - a deadline for Catholic action is looming this month. Released last June, one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) calls to action asked faith groups "to formally adopt and comply with the principles, norms and standards of the UN's Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) as a framework for reconciliation."

JOE GUNN

Are you afraid of the terrorists? If not afraid, according to the most recent polls, most of your neighbours believe that Canada should at least be doing more to fight ISIL in Iraq and Syria. In response, this month the Liberal government announced increased measures to combat Islamic State fighters: more humanitarian assistance has been promised, a larger number of Special Forces will be sent to the region on an enlarged training mission, while two reconnaissance aircraft and an aerial refueling plane will remain in theatre.

JOE GUNN

Pope Francis recently highlighted "efforts to bring world leaders together at COP21 in the search for new ways to confront climate change" as optimistic signs of a bright new future for humankind. The pope's World Day of Peace message on Jan. 1, entitled Overcome Indifference and Win Peace, cites different reasons for a hopeful future. But Canadian efforts to lower our carbon emissions are vastly more complicated depending on the province in which you live.